It was a lucky break for me.
For those of you who know what I’m talking about here. Good.
I didn’t strike the lottery. Neither did I win in a lucky draw. I’m just glad that God was there for me.
So the wife of an opposition party member cut up her brother in-law and his wife. The press caught on with the story. Wait!
The mention of ‘opposition party’ is the very crux of the matter! I do not suppose that the guy is just an opposition member, but a member of a registered political party in Singapore. The thing is, there is no mention of the party. He is just referred to as the “slipper man” and “opposition party member”. That’s rather derogatory, I must say.
Another thing I picked up was the mention of that particular “opposition party member”. He was referred to by just his surname. That’s rather odd, knowing that the local presses love to condemn criminals by just stating their surnames. When they quote or mention someone of respect or even of some social dignity, their title always begin with a Mr, or Ms or… you get what I mean.
My questions are…
1) Why is there a harping over the fact that it is the wife of an “opposition party member” and not the wife of an “ABC Party member”?
2) Why is the use of that “opposition party member’s” name and title and reference so crude, and derogatory.
It’s his wife who killed people. For goodness sake, when someone commits a crime, you do not implicate his/her spouse do you?
Politically motivated or conspiracy theory? You tell me.
Oh yes, CNA even has the audacity to post the party member’s photo on their article when it is his wife who committed the crime. Have they gone off tangent or what?
My ultimate questions are… Is that what professional journalism demands? Is this the proper angle to take?
FYI, here’s the link. See for yourself.
The week that just passed was rotten altogether. The precursor was a good sign of what was to come.
Friday, 20th June: Argued with some drunk bastard who cut my cab queue. In the end, the cab stopped for him and I was left cab-less. I finally resorted to taking the train all the way back to Boon Lay where I was based for the week.
Saturday, 21st June: Got my cab queue cut again. Relented and crossed the road to avoid the unnecessary competition. Not so bad.
Sunday, 22nd June: Went Thomson Road for prata lunch with Aaron, Daniel and Kelvin. Parked at the usual spot. (which was over the double yellow line) Got fucking fined. Best thing: It was a rainy Sunday. What were the fucking chances? $70 just disappeared.
Monday, 23rd June: Got to the office. Opened outlook. Reminded some clients on submission of long overdue materials. Not too long later, I got a fucking sarcastic reply from this supposed country manager of a certain property dealing firm that originates from Canada. Man, had half a mind to throw him a caustic reply. Too bad being in marketing and sales means that there’s lots of cock-sucking. Hence, I had to curb my email reply to a polite, explanatory one. Fuck.
This precursor was bad enough to spoil my week. Needless to say, more suay stuff happened. I felt shitty. My work performance dipped. I got rather impatient with a colleague. And for the first time, I dozed off at work.
They say that a good rest leads to good performance. Bearing the same relation to performance is a good mood. The mood this week was just rage infused with a little despair. I seriously hope that next week will be better. Much better. Then again, I don’t know if this is God’s idea of making me a more patient and understanding person. I just feel so lousy when forced to be patient and understanding. Ok, perhaps understanding isn’t the right word as anyone who understands should understand that it was really a fucked up week.
Pirating programs sure is stressful.
First is sieving through tons of pages, leaving all those that sell network site memberships and penis extensions out. Then it’s about downloading the file. Normally, this takes ages cos the servers are in Russia. Next, is to know how to use the program/patch. All these takes about half an hour per source. The best-case scenario: the first source has what you want. The nightmare scenario: you search all freaking day to no avail.
Oh well, at least I’ve gotton what I was searching for… After looking through 4 sources. Now I’m sleepy.
I am somewhat impressed that Mediacorp has launched their green project titled, “Saving Gaia”. I can’t help but wonder if it is green-washing. For the uninitiated, green-washing is like putting on a coat of paint; like white washing. However, beneath the surface, everything remains unchanged. That meaning, to green wash is to portray a green facade to the world and not practice anything at all.
Well, I would like to pay mediacorp a visit some day and just see how green they have become. Or is this just a publicity stunt? Any insiders willing to divulge something?
Anyhow, amid this global commodity crisis, many companies have been adopting this green policies, claiming that it would help you cut your carbon footprint and hence, save costs. Like the one you see on the MRTs by the Building and Construction Authority. Seriously, not everybody cares for the environment. What most people care about is how their energy consumption is going to harm their wallet. Then again, it is green-washing quite smartly fit in.
Well, I ain’t saying that it’s a bad thing altogether. As long as a company that spreads this message adopts green policies internally on a gradual basis, they’re fine. They need not start off perfect. What irks me the most are companies that proclaim about being clean and green, but yet chalk up enough wattage to fry all of the world’s death-row convicts.
Lets do our part with nature, not with our mouths but with our hearts and minds. I know I do sound like some clean and green frog mascot here. But hey, I wouldn’t want to see global warming get so bad that I have to turn on the A/C hence incurring extra electricity charges. I would also not want to see the world run out of oil as I’ve not even gotten my own car yet! Well, just think of the bigger implications when you endure a short moment of discomfort without the A/C. The effort of everyone combined brings about huge changes. As what Captain Planet says, “The Power is Yours!”
As for impressions. My rosy foray into this current internship has turned dark. I somehow do not feel valued by the company. This is due to many factors.
One, being the kind of menial jobs I have to complete without knowing what they’re for and when they’re due. The best thing is that I’m left out of the loop on all my department’s work and dealings. Isn’t it supposed to be a learning opportunity? All I’m learning now are filing techniques. Oh well, perhaps some email etiquette too.
Two, my colleagues have stopped calling me out for lunch, knowing that I’m available. That is so not a sign of acceptance.
Three, when my department was introduced to the new staff, I wasn’t. That really takes the respect cake.
Well, I somehow am feeling disenchanted. But I guess I’ll hang on and make my way through this rough patch properly.
I’d love to reiterate this… Interns are not slaves, they are future industry leaders, they are supposed to learn the tools of the trade. It’s not right to deny anyone who joined the company as a work-learn experience the right training, guidance and mentorship. Oh well, I guess I’ll be able to hang on till the 25th July when my contract expires.
Wow! It’s such a long entry. I’d love to type more, but my eyes are closing and I seem unable to think straight. Ok, where’s my beer?
The traffic police dug really deep into my pockets today.
I got fined $70 for parking over the double yellow line.
The worst thing: it was at some backwardly ulu private estate.
What are the chances? You tell me!
I guess it must have been some disgruntled resident that called the fuzz on me.
Singapore really is a FINE city. They really hit you below the belt… in your pockets.
First, it was this
Then I got a knockoff in Bangkok for $75
Now, it’s this…
Shit! When will the lust stop? This baby costs $5000. Anyone going to Bangkok soon? Please get another knockoff for me. Please?
I’m just feeling happy right now.
All in the prospect of losing a business deal and having to wake up tomorrow.
But what the hell! Beer’s the chill pill. Oh ya… LOL Cats enhances the experience.
shit! shit! Running outta beer!
So it’s been a week of work at shareinvestor. The thing is, I’m somewhat enjoying it! That, even when I crash and burn on the sofa when I get home in the evenings.
Never before have I enjoyed work. Well, it’s not as if I’ve had a wealth of experience. Back at Ecquaria, it was problems with a project team member. Then as a check-in employee for Royal Caribbean, it was communication problems with Chinese tourists and lousy treatment from “guests” from a specific county in South Asia.
This time, I have a cooperative project team and even a cubicle to call my own! Raffles place is also never short of good food albeit the slightly steeper prices and harder-to-find seats. On top of that I get a company email address and an access card - stuff I never got as a temp previously.
On another note, whenever I log onto my blog, I have a 101 comments to moderate. The thing is, I’m not as popular as that figure portrays. They are all SPAM! Those fucking spammers don’t know when to stop! That’s the problem with the internet; where a fine line divides legit advertising and spam. Even google analytics looks like spam now. Even at work, I receive spam shit in my mail. The worse thing is… it’s always about extending your dick, maintaining your erection, purchasing fake goods, fake degrees, etcetera. I even get spam written in mandarin! So I end up reading it half-way only to realise that it is spam. Damnit! Seriously, fuck spam! It only serves to irritate and con unsuspecting people. Spammers ought to be shot!
Just a few days ago, UOB slapped me across the face by sending me this worthless problem-laden card. I can’t say it’s totally worthless because it still comes with the sweet deal of UOB dining privileges.
But… Problems are aplenty!
1. The card looks like Mao’s little red book
2. The Campus card scheme will be no more. Meaning: No more card fee-waiver and no more UNI$
3. It comes embedded with an EZlink chip, making things not so easy. Now, when I ride the bus/train, I’ll have to take out my EZlink card to make payment. That’s because…
a. I have a student concession and am not willing to pay full fare.
b. EZlink readers don’t decide which card to scan, neither do you tell the EZlink reader what to scan. You have to manually scan a SINGLE card.
c. Auto top-ups are charged a commission fee. Why should I do it when I do free auto top-ups via GIRO arrangements with my DBS account?
4. No NETS. Some essential transactions are still NETS only. So now I have to use my DBS card?
It really is forcing the card down our throats!
As it seems, all arrows point to DBS. Then again, DBS sucks because the rewards scheme to their debit cards is very limited.
Well, this is not the first time that UOB has slapped me. They’ve marked down their interest rates for the students account and fcfd accounts. So NOW, where’s the attractive factor of doing business with them?
I guess UOB is shifting their business interests to high-end priority banking. Does that mean that “low-life” consumers can be ignored?
